The worst possible strategic decision - but a predictable one.

China doesn’t do alliances. It builds dependencies, then monetizes, coerces, and exploits them. It offers markets without trust, contracts without guarantees, and “partnerships” that end the moment you stop being useful. It is a terrible partner by design.

That said - when business and governments are wired around stability and predictability, and the Trump administration offers neither - with the added bonus of public threats, humiliation rituals for leaders and their citizens - the backlash was inevitable. The pivot of others toward China won’t happen because Beijing is attractive, it will happened because Washington made itself radioactive.

And let’s not pretend this caught anyone by surprise. After JD Vance’s speech in Munich last year, Chinese officials were practically giddy. They moved immediately to exploit the opening, amplify divisions, and weaken the Atlantic alliance from within.

That’s the part people still refuse to understand: China doesn’t need to win militarily - it just needs the West to keep sabotaging itself. Why waste a single bullet when we can do it on their behalf?

Ego and pride aren’t just personal flaws.
are strategic liabilities - and historically, they’ve destroyed far more empires than enemy armies ever did.